9. “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong
8. “To live like a lion for a day is far better than to live like a jackal for a hundred years.” – Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu
7. “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
6. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
5. “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in tenacity.” – Louis Pasteur
4. “I am building a fire, and every day I train. I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” – Mia Hamm
3. “Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work.” – Andre Agassi
2. “An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.” – Thomas Fuller
1. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
You determine your own achievement, your own greatness. When you push yourself, life will push back. But if you can continue forward with the examples of Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Dwight D. Eisenhower in the forefront of the mind, you’ll make progress. Don’t let your or anyone else’s fears and doubts stifle your growth. Stay strong. Put the necessary blood, tears, and sweat into your goals and you’ll get exponentially more than that out of your experiences.
